There is always pressure to be funny all the time: Shivasish Sarangi on highs and lows of being a stand-up comedian

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Open mics, just like for every comedian, is this 26-year-old's testing ground (Pic: Shivasish)

How Shivasish Sarangi transitioned from public speaking at Toastmasters International (organisation known to promote communication) while working with Tata Consultancy Services into lacing his speeches with humour and finally, into a full-fledged stand-up comedian was completely organic.

He simply started with invoking childhood memories and the audience connected with it immediately. "I understood a lot about audience mentality and connecting with them from my experience at Toastmasters," says Sarangi, who is known to have co-founded the popular comedy group The Chain Jokers and it was last year, around this time, when he started performing solo.

Transformation complete? Oh, no. He is just getting started.

Open mics, just like for every comedian, is this 26-year-old's testing ground. "Biswa Kalyan Rath is known to test his jokes during open mics several times," shares Shivasish, adding that he tries to do the same. Apart from this, The Chain Jokers are doing their best to promote stand-up comedy culture through open mics anyway. And that's what Shivasish, who completed his internship with Toyota Financial Services India, Bengaluru, is doing currently, promoting and participating in the open mic culture. So does he dabble with political jokes as well? "Even if I do, I don't dig too deep, I stick to hardcore facts," he says.
One question we have been itching to ask a stand-up comedian is if they feel the pressure of being funny at all times, even when they are not quite in the mood. He laughs and agrees whole-heartedly.

Especially when one is around friends and you tell them something funny which falls flat, they tend to say 'You are a comedian, you can do better than that!' So, it's good to equip yourself with comebacks and wisecracks which could work in any situation

Shivasish Sarangi

So in situations likes these, it is important to remind yourself why you do what you do.

So, what's his favourite part about being a comedian, we wonder. "The satisfaction you feel when you realise that the joke that was funny in your head makes the audience laugh too," shares the student of Xavier School of Human Resource Management, Xavier University. Though he does add the fact that comedy is a male-dominated scene currently and it would be great if he could see more females also coming forward and giving the stage a shot. "The thing is that most people are afraid of performing," he points out. But you never know. If you give it a shot, you might discover something new that is waiting to be tapped into.

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